{"id":94085,"date":"2019-05-10T13:27:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T19:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-parents-accused-of-comatose-daughters-abuse-are-sentenced\/"},"modified":"2019-05-10T13:27:37","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T19:27:37","slug":"durango-parents-accused-of-comatose-daughters-abuse-are-sentenced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-parents-accused-of-comatose-daughters-abuse-are-sentenced\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango parents accused of comatose daughter\u2019s abuse are sentenced"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"
du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A Durango man who pleaded guilty to abusing his 4-year-old daughter \u2013 to the extent that she may remain in a coma the rest of her life \u2013 was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison.<\/p>\n

Sixth Judicial District Judge Todd Norvell sentenced Morgan Abbey, 35, to the maximum 12 years in prison allowed under a plea agreement.<\/p>\n

\"Abbey\"
Abbey<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cYou essentially killed your daughter,\u201d Norvell told Abbey. \u201cThere is no sentence I can impose on you that would fairly account for the sentence you\u2019ve imposed on your own daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 4-year-old victim appeared Friday in the courtroom, in a wheelchair, in a coma and using an oxygen tank for assistance. Throughout the sentencing hearing, the girl could be heard moaning.<\/p>\n

It was suspected that Abbey grabbed her by the feet and swung her around, causing her to hit her head. She had other bruises all over her body when she was taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n

The girl\u2019s mother, Andrea Wyne, 35, also pleaded guilty to child abuse but to a lesser charge stating she was compliant and knew of the abuse Abbey inflicted on the child.<\/p>\n

Wyne was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 10 years of supervised probation and 100 days of community service. While on probation, she will be prohibited from contacting her children and other minors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re responsible, too, and you have to live with that,\u201d Norvell told Wyne. \u201cI hope you never have access to your kids for the rest of your life. \u2026 I\u2019m accepting this agreement, barely, holding my own nose because you don\u2019t deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wyne\"
Wyne<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Abbey and Wyne were taken from the courtroom in handcuffs and will start their sentences immediately. Both must pay court fines and restitution, which will be determined later.<\/p>\n

According to authorities<\/a>, the 4-year-old girl was taken unconscious and seizing to Mercy Regional Medical Center in January 2018. A few hours later, she was flown to a Denver hospital with life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n

The parents, Norvell said, told investigators differing accounts of the injuries, at times calling them accidental or blaming them on \u201croughhousing\u201d with her brothers. Police, however, had their doubts, especially because Abbey was the suspect, but not charged, in a similar incident in 2009 when another child of Abbey\u2019s, a 3-month-old, was taken to the hospital with a broken arm and bleeding in his brain. The child survived. A former girlfriend of Abbey\u2019s told investigators Abbey admitted to hurting the child.<\/p>\n

After further investigation into the 4-year-old daughter\u2019s injuries, police arrested Abbey and Wyne for child abuse.<\/p>\n

At Friday\u2019s hearing, Norvell pressed Abbey to admit what happened. Abbey, moments before hearing his sentence, admitted abusing his daughter and Wyne\u2019s three other children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve placed hands on all these children,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I was much harsher on her, and I\u2019ve gone further than I should have at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to testimony, Abbey returned to Durango a few years ago after leaving his family behind while he lived briefly in California. In Durango, he lived with Wyne and the four children at 60 Westwood Place, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

Abbey, pleading to Norvell, said he had a difficult upbringing and battles with mental health issues. He said he has struggled with drug addictions, too, including the use of meth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been devastated over (the child\u2019s) injuries since day one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But Norvell persisted, saying Abbey refused to accept responsibility for his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe you,\u201d Norvell said. \u201cYou did this to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Geslao, an emergency room nurse at Mercy Regional Medical Center, said he examined her and found bruises all over her body.<\/p>\n

A scan found bleeding in her brain and a skull fracture. A portion of her skull was removed to relieve the pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Her parents) have stolen her childhood, her adolescence, her adulthood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wyne\u2019s attorney, Heather Little, described Wyne as a struggling single mother who deserved a lesser sentence because she did not cause the injuries.<\/p>\n

Wyne, in the few comments she made to Norvell, said she failed her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my children, but I failed them and my family that day,\u201d Wyne said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t paying enough attention (to the abuse occurring).\u201d<\/p>\n

But Norvell said initial investigations into the incident show Wyne actively tried to cover up what happened and collaborated with Abbey. Investigators also talked with multiple witnesses who say Wyne physically abused all her children.<\/p>\n

When asked why she lied to police, Wyne said she and Abbey were \u201cstressed\u201d and \u201cscared.\u201d She did not admit to knowing Abbey went to such extreme measures with his abuse.<\/p>\n

Speaking with investigators, all the children in the home said they were hit frequently, often with belts, spoons and even a baton.<\/p>\n

The children are now under the care of their grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how sorry I am this happened,\u201d Norvell said, speaking to the family.<\/p>\n

When asked why she lied to police, Wyne said she and Abbey were \u201cstressed\u201d and \u201cscared.\u201d She did not admit to knowing Abbey went to such extreme measures with his physical abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought she was just tired,\u201d Wyne said of the day she saw her daughter\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe you,\u201d Norvell responded. \u201cYou\u2019re concocting stories to save your own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The children are now under the care of their grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how sorry I am this happened,\u201d Norvell said, speaking to the family. \u201cI hope for that miracle (the girl coming out of the coma) that others have wished.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

maximum 12 years in prison in plea deal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[168,950,4259],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-94085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-crime","tag-durango","tag-newsletter-sign-up"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94085"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=94085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}